ethical analysis Essay

Submitted By khead03
Words: 872
Pages: 4

Q. What is the relationship between Business and Ethics?

The relationship between business and ethics dives far deeper than many people often realize. Ethics is commonly portrayed as an issue dealt with in ones’ personal life and often times not associated with the business world at all. All the while, people forget to see that ethics is one of the most important things when it comes to running and operating a successful business. There are many different times and places where an ethical dilemma comes into play in the business world, and each time, must be approached with rational thought and care. Although these dilemmas may seem minute at times, the decisions you make regarding these dilemmas can alter or change a business very drastically. There are various things one must think about in order to properly solve ethical dilemmas in businesses, while keeping in mind the two most important factors: making money, and doing the right thing. Ethical dilemmas pop up on a daily basis in the workplace. Sometimes these dilemmas are fairly simple to solve and make a decision, others that take more time and thought process to come up with a fair and smart decision. For these dilemmas, it is smart to follow some guidelines and questions you can ask yourself, in order to come to the most logical and ethical decision. The first thing to ask oneself is whether or not the situation is truly and ethical problem or not. There are problems that can often be easily solved by an employee handbook or are fairly obvious what the right decision is. Other problems may be more difficult to find the answer, and one must think about the consequences, what the decision might say about a person’s character, and the principles of that may be affected by the decision. The consequences can often times be the one thing that is not thought about thoroughly or properly when first making a decision. But in actuality, they should be the first thing that is thought about. The consequences and ramifications of a decision are usually what affect others in the business the most. Whether they affect the shareholders of a company, the employees, or yourself, the consequences can me the most altering and life-changing. Sometimes it is beneficial to make a chart of sorts in order to sort out the harms and benefits of making a certain decision, and who it affects the most. In addition to consequences, on must take into consideration if a certain person’s character is being put into question. It is not ethical to point fingers and challenge a person’s character, if such a move can be avoided. It is key to weigh all options before choosing a decision that may not affect you personally, but may greatly affect a co-worker or employee. There are many principles and values that, like consequences, can make it difficult to make a proper decision in an ethical dilemma. These principles are the basis of making the right decisions that determine the key factors of doing the right thing and making money. Whether the principles at stake hurt or benefit shareholders or employees, morals are questioned, or societal and economical values are put at stake. These are all principles that must be taken into consideration in order to make the right decisions. There are many ‘right vs. right’